I'm reading poetry that is around 3,500 years old.
More to come...
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
On the Aramaic Language
From F. Rosenthal:
"In my view, the history of Aramaic represents the purest triumph of the human spirit as embodied in language (which is the mind's most direct form of physical expression) over the crude display of material power...Great empires were conquered by the Aramaic language, and when they disappeared and were submerged in the flow of history, that language persisted and continued to live a life of its own. Of course, there were always many speakers of Aramaic in the hearland, but what they had been before, that they remained - powerless entities, politically speaking mostly non-entities, in a world controlled by others better organized for power and domination. Yet the language continued to be powerfully active in the promugation of spiritual matters. It was the main instrument for hte formulation of religious ideas in the Near East, which then spread in all directions all over the world. Some, such as the gnostic systems, dominated the spiritual word view for centureies and they lost their identities; others, the monothesitic groups, continue to live on today with a religious heritage, much of which found first expression in Aramaic.
The total sweep of Aramaic history thus presents a marvelous and unique picture. It teaches us that the underdog may in fact have the opportunity to play a decisive role, that it is possible for the word pure and simple to dominate empires and survive their dissolution, that it is possible for the true achievements of hte human spirit to live on even after those who attained them are no longer the masters of the material fortunes of themselves and of those around them. In this there seems to be a comforting lesson for our own time. It is a lesson which is plain and inescapable with any segment of hte history of Aramaic."
The Aramaic language has been spoken for nearly three millenia in various forms through the present era in various small villages in Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Azerbaijan. Historically, Aramaic was used in various capacities from Sudan to southern Turkey, Afganastan (where it was used by a Buddhist King Asoka), and even China where a bilingual Aramaic and Chinese inscription was found in modern Xi'an dated from AD 781.
The literature of Aramaic is broad covering numerous religious traditions such as Syriac Christianity, Judaism, paganism, and gnostic sects. Given the importance of this literature such as the Babylonian Talmud, the Targumim, the Hymns of St. Ephrem the Syrian, the Peshitta, and the Aramaic portions of Daniel and Ezra, it is a shame that the language has not enjoyed more scholarly and popular attention as its Semitic cousins Hebrew and Arabic. It is a language that hides many rich treasures of which I count myself privilaged to find.
"In my view, the history of Aramaic represents the purest triumph of the human spirit as embodied in language (which is the mind's most direct form of physical expression) over the crude display of material power...Great empires were conquered by the Aramaic language, and when they disappeared and were submerged in the flow of history, that language persisted and continued to live a life of its own. Of course, there were always many speakers of Aramaic in the hearland, but what they had been before, that they remained - powerless entities, politically speaking mostly non-entities, in a world controlled by others better organized for power and domination. Yet the language continued to be powerfully active in the promugation of spiritual matters. It was the main instrument for hte formulation of religious ideas in the Near East, which then spread in all directions all over the world. Some, such as the gnostic systems, dominated the spiritual word view for centureies and they lost their identities; others, the monothesitic groups, continue to live on today with a religious heritage, much of which found first expression in Aramaic.
The total sweep of Aramaic history thus presents a marvelous and unique picture. It teaches us that the underdog may in fact have the opportunity to play a decisive role, that it is possible for the word pure and simple to dominate empires and survive their dissolution, that it is possible for the true achievements of hte human spirit to live on even after those who attained them are no longer the masters of the material fortunes of themselves and of those around them. In this there seems to be a comforting lesson for our own time. It is a lesson which is plain and inescapable with any segment of hte history of Aramaic."
The Aramaic language has been spoken for nearly three millenia in various forms through the present era in various small villages in Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Azerbaijan. Historically, Aramaic was used in various capacities from Sudan to southern Turkey, Afganastan (where it was used by a Buddhist King Asoka), and even China where a bilingual Aramaic and Chinese inscription was found in modern Xi'an dated from AD 781.
The literature of Aramaic is broad covering numerous religious traditions such as Syriac Christianity, Judaism, paganism, and gnostic sects. Given the importance of this literature such as the Babylonian Talmud, the Targumim, the Hymns of St. Ephrem the Syrian, the Peshitta, and the Aramaic portions of Daniel and Ezra, it is a shame that the language has not enjoyed more scholarly and popular attention as its Semitic cousins Hebrew and Arabic. It is a language that hides many rich treasures of which I count myself privilaged to find.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Son of Thunder, Spiritual General
On the commemoration of the repose of St. John the Theologian
Tone 1
With your tongue resounding as thunder,
you declare the hidden Word of the Wisdom of God!
O beloved of God, you open your mouth to cry:
“In the beginning was the Word!”
Thus you illumine all mankind with the knowledge of God.
Tone 2
Let us give rightful praise to the Son of Thunder,
the source of divine words, the chief theologian,
the first to proclaim the truths of the teachings of the wisdom of God:
John the beloved and virgin.
For divinely inspired from within he said:
“In the beginning was the Word!”
You taught that He is inseparable from the Father;
equal to Him in nature,
and revealed to us the right worship of the Trinity!
You have also shown us the Creator,
Who being with the Father and bearing life, showed us the true light.
Awesome and fearful wonder!
As you were filled with love, you were filled with divine speech,
and with the glory, belief and honor
that confirm our undivided faith,
through which we attain the eternal good on the Day of Judgment!
Tone 1
As an eyewitness of the ineffable mysteries,
You cried out, exclaiming:
“In the beginning the pre-eternal Word was with God, and He was God!”
O Apostle John, who leaned on Christ’s breast,
the true friend of the Trinity,
fragrance of Ephesus, unshaken support of Patmos, and helper of us;
intercede, most blessed Theologian,
that the people who always faithfully keep your memory,
may be delivered from hostile enemies, both physical and spiritual.
Tone 6 (by John the Monk)
O Apostle of Christ,
Evangelist and divine Teacher,
you were an initiate of ineffable things.
You made teachings plain to the faithful,
as you thundered forth to us:
“In the beginning was the Word!”
Casting aside the words of heretics who said: “He was not.”
You were openly the bosom friend and beloved,
like the prophet Isaiah, and Moses, who saw God.
As you have boldness before Him,
never cease to pray for our souls!
Tone 1
With your tongue resounding as thunder,
you declare the hidden Word of the Wisdom of God!
O beloved of God, you open your mouth to cry:
“In the beginning was the Word!”
Thus you illumine all mankind with the knowledge of God.
Tone 2
Let us give rightful praise to the Son of Thunder,
the source of divine words, the chief theologian,
the first to proclaim the truths of the teachings of the wisdom of God:
John the beloved and virgin.
For divinely inspired from within he said:
“In the beginning was the Word!”
You taught that He is inseparable from the Father;
equal to Him in nature,
and revealed to us the right worship of the Trinity!
You have also shown us the Creator,
Who being with the Father and bearing life, showed us the true light.
Awesome and fearful wonder!
As you were filled with love, you were filled with divine speech,
and with the glory, belief and honor
that confirm our undivided faith,
through which we attain the eternal good on the Day of Judgment!
Tone 1
As an eyewitness of the ineffable mysteries,
You cried out, exclaiming:
“In the beginning the pre-eternal Word was with God, and He was God!”
O Apostle John, who leaned on Christ’s breast,
the true friend of the Trinity,
fragrance of Ephesus, unshaken support of Patmos, and helper of us;
intercede, most blessed Theologian,
that the people who always faithfully keep your memory,
may be delivered from hostile enemies, both physical and spiritual.
Tone 6 (by John the Monk)
O Apostle of Christ,
Evangelist and divine Teacher,
you were an initiate of ineffable things.
You made teachings plain to the faithful,
as you thundered forth to us:
“In the beginning was the Word!”
Casting aside the words of heretics who said: “He was not.”
You were openly the bosom friend and beloved,
like the prophet Isaiah, and Moses, who saw God.
As you have boldness before Him,
never cease to pray for our souls!
Year Two Underway
Tomorrow at 10:30 am classes will finally begin for me in my second year at U of C. My class load consists of
I am very excited about this year. While four language classes may seem like a lot, I don't believe that it will feel that way. The work will be fun and not drudgery, and my professors are excellent lecturers.
I plan to share much of what I am working through here on this blog with exerpts from texts and interesting tid-bits from class lectures.
- Beginning Ugaritic
- Advanced Syriac
- Biblical/Imperial/Old Aramaic
- Tanaaitic Hebrew
I am very excited about this year. While four language classes may seem like a lot, I don't believe that it will feel that way. The work will be fun and not drudgery, and my professors are excellent lecturers.
I plan to share much of what I am working through here on this blog with exerpts from texts and interesting tid-bits from class lectures.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
No Small Man
"He was capable, both in terms of his political manoeuvres as well as his theology, of stirring up violent feelings for and against him, wherever he went. In itself this is a testimony to the extraordinary vigour of his mind and his character. Small men do not create such large effects."
-John McGuckin writing on St. Cyril of Alexandria
-John McGuckin writing on St. Cyril of Alexandria
Thursday, September 21, 2006
On the Western Rite
In response to some recent discussions in the Orthodox blogoslavia regarding the Western Rite, I wish to extend a few of my own observations as well as questions.
I was recently advised by my spiritual father after a discussion about the Western Rite to remember what it was that drew me to Orthodoxy in the first place. We left the conversation there, but I continued to meditate on it. My response is that, for me at any rate, it was not the eastern liturgy that drew me to Orthodoxy. It was not icons or prayer ropes or Byzantine chant that made me seriously consider becoming Orthodox. In fact, my first encounters with these sorts of things actually had the opposite effect. I remember standing in the Greek Orthodox parish at New Corinth thinking, "Well, I don't think I'll ever be Orthodox. This is too foreign for me." To be sure, it was beautiful and held a certain intrigue as anything culturally foreign has to me, but the eastern rite was not an initial selling point.
It was only later, riding on the trains through Britain reading Bishop Ware's book The Orthodox Church that I seriously began considering becoming Orthodox. In other words, it was my engagement with Orthodox theology that began to turn my heart toward the Church. In fact, it was not until I read St. Ignatius' epistle to the Ephesians that I knew that I had to become Orthodox as an act of obedience to God.
Regarding the liturgy or rite, it was only later that I began to appreciate the eastern liturgy. The smells and bells and 'snake charming' eastern chant grew on me, and I eventually learned to cherish them. However, it was the western liturgical tradition that was my 'schoolmaster', as it were, that turned my heart away from Protestantism and toward the historical Church. It was attending Catholic masses and a beautiful little Anglo-Catholic Episcopal parish in Shawnee, OK, that gave me an appreciation for liturgy, sacraments, devotion to the saints, and the like.
Some of my most charished memories are of praying in a dark abbey church at the Benedictine Catholic university and monestary down the road from my university. It was the only place I could go and be alone in prayer. The side chapels contained a reliquary, candle stands, the reserved sacrament, and a beautiful mosaic of the Blessed Virgin. It was there that I lit my first candle and asked the intercession of a saint. It was there and at another Catholic church that I made my first baby steps in devotion to the the Theotokos. I vividly remember some of my most spiritually significant moments kneeling at Maundy Thursday mass weeping as the alter was stripped and the sacrament carried in procession to the lady chapel.
The point of all this being that it was in fact a western liturgical piety that pointed me in the direction of Orthodoxy. It was only then, after my heart had been soften toward things 'Catholic' such as saints and sacraments that I was prepared to deal with Orthodox theology. And it was then that Orthodox theology was revealed to me in all of its glory. I did not become Orthodox because I had some fetish for eastern cultural forms, but because I was convinced by the Theology of the Church and a keen sense of urgency to be united to the Church under her authority. To be sure, I love the eastern rite (in many cases I prefer it to the Western Rite) and I am being spiritually nurished by it on a daily basis.
In light of this, and the experience of many others who become Orthodox either out of or into the Western Rite, I do not believe that that the Orthodox Western Rite is intended to be a sort of attraction to facilitate evangelizing the West. There is no reason to become Western Rite if one is already practicing western liturgical forms. There are myriads of 'purist' or 'traditionalist' groups within Catholicism and Anglicanism to satisfy the person who desires a more 'orthodox' liturgical experience. Why, then, would such a person want to become Orthodox? I believe it is the same reason I became Orthodox, precisely because of the theology of the Church and what she claims to be, the Body of Christ.
Why then would such a person want to worship in the Western Rite? I believe it is to retain and in a sense fully redeem the liturgical experience that they had previously in an imperfect and incomplete form. It is a reclaiming of the Western liturgical piety for Orthodoxy, not a mere tool of evangelism. As such, the Western Rite is an expression of the catholicity of the Church, of the redemtion of the Western culture in its own distinct, yet still profoundly Orthodox liturgical expression. The task of Western Rite Orthodoxy and her hierarchs is to purge the Western tradition of its non-Orthodox elements and supply it with those elements lacking. This will be an ongoing process that will take many years to complete. But, it is something that saints such as Tikhon, Raphael, and John of Shanghai as well as patriarchs, metropolitans, and local bishops believe in. Having seen the positive effects of the Western Rite in my own journey to Orthodoxy and that of my parents, I believe in it too.
At the end of the day, it might be proven wrong on theological grounds or by virtue that it never fully catches on as an enduring Orthodox phenomenon. Or, it might grow into a truly beautiful and rich expression of the Orthodox Christian faith that brings many souls into the kingdom and much glory to God. I suppose this is the real litmus test of the validity of the Orthodox Western Rite.
I know I will probably be accused of crypto-Protestant subjectivism or something similar. But my purpose here is simply to offer my own experience as a testimony. It is precarious to speak too much of 'what the Church teaches' or 'what the Fathers say' because our knowledge of such things is imperfect. But, we can speak with confidense of our own journey to Orthodoxy, and this is what I offer here.
I was recently advised by my spiritual father after a discussion about the Western Rite to remember what it was that drew me to Orthodoxy in the first place. We left the conversation there, but I continued to meditate on it. My response is that, for me at any rate, it was not the eastern liturgy that drew me to Orthodoxy. It was not icons or prayer ropes or Byzantine chant that made me seriously consider becoming Orthodox. In fact, my first encounters with these sorts of things actually had the opposite effect. I remember standing in the Greek Orthodox parish at New Corinth thinking, "Well, I don't think I'll ever be Orthodox. This is too foreign for me." To be sure, it was beautiful and held a certain intrigue as anything culturally foreign has to me, but the eastern rite was not an initial selling point.
It was only later, riding on the trains through Britain reading Bishop Ware's book The Orthodox Church that I seriously began considering becoming Orthodox. In other words, it was my engagement with Orthodox theology that began to turn my heart toward the Church. In fact, it was not until I read St. Ignatius' epistle to the Ephesians that I knew that I had to become Orthodox as an act of obedience to God.
Regarding the liturgy or rite, it was only later that I began to appreciate the eastern liturgy. The smells and bells and 'snake charming' eastern chant grew on me, and I eventually learned to cherish them. However, it was the western liturgical tradition that was my 'schoolmaster', as it were, that turned my heart away from Protestantism and toward the historical Church. It was attending Catholic masses and a beautiful little Anglo-Catholic Episcopal parish in Shawnee, OK, that gave me an appreciation for liturgy, sacraments, devotion to the saints, and the like.
Some of my most charished memories are of praying in a dark abbey church at the Benedictine Catholic university and monestary down the road from my university. It was the only place I could go and be alone in prayer. The side chapels contained a reliquary, candle stands, the reserved sacrament, and a beautiful mosaic of the Blessed Virgin. It was there that I lit my first candle and asked the intercession of a saint. It was there and at another Catholic church that I made my first baby steps in devotion to the the Theotokos. I vividly remember some of my most spiritually significant moments kneeling at Maundy Thursday mass weeping as the alter was stripped and the sacrament carried in procession to the lady chapel.
The point of all this being that it was in fact a western liturgical piety that pointed me in the direction of Orthodoxy. It was only then, after my heart had been soften toward things 'Catholic' such as saints and sacraments that I was prepared to deal with Orthodox theology. And it was then that Orthodox theology was revealed to me in all of its glory. I did not become Orthodox because I had some fetish for eastern cultural forms, but because I was convinced by the Theology of the Church and a keen sense of urgency to be united to the Church under her authority. To be sure, I love the eastern rite (in many cases I prefer it to the Western Rite) and I am being spiritually nurished by it on a daily basis.
In light of this, and the experience of many others who become Orthodox either out of or into the Western Rite, I do not believe that that the Orthodox Western Rite is intended to be a sort of attraction to facilitate evangelizing the West. There is no reason to become Western Rite if one is already practicing western liturgical forms. There are myriads of 'purist' or 'traditionalist' groups within Catholicism and Anglicanism to satisfy the person who desires a more 'orthodox' liturgical experience. Why, then, would such a person want to become Orthodox? I believe it is the same reason I became Orthodox, precisely because of the theology of the Church and what she claims to be, the Body of Christ.
Why then would such a person want to worship in the Western Rite? I believe it is to retain and in a sense fully redeem the liturgical experience that they had previously in an imperfect and incomplete form. It is a reclaiming of the Western liturgical piety for Orthodoxy, not a mere tool of evangelism. As such, the Western Rite is an expression of the catholicity of the Church, of the redemtion of the Western culture in its own distinct, yet still profoundly Orthodox liturgical expression. The task of Western Rite Orthodoxy and her hierarchs is to purge the Western tradition of its non-Orthodox elements and supply it with those elements lacking. This will be an ongoing process that will take many years to complete. But, it is something that saints such as Tikhon, Raphael, and John of Shanghai as well as patriarchs, metropolitans, and local bishops believe in. Having seen the positive effects of the Western Rite in my own journey to Orthodoxy and that of my parents, I believe in it too.
At the end of the day, it might be proven wrong on theological grounds or by virtue that it never fully catches on as an enduring Orthodox phenomenon. Or, it might grow into a truly beautiful and rich expression of the Orthodox Christian faith that brings many souls into the kingdom and much glory to God. I suppose this is the real litmus test of the validity of the Orthodox Western Rite.
I know I will probably be accused of crypto-Protestant subjectivism or something similar. But my purpose here is simply to offer my own experience as a testimony. It is precarious to speak too much of 'what the Church teaches' or 'what the Fathers say' because our knowledge of such things is imperfect. But, we can speak with confidense of our own journey to Orthodoxy, and this is what I offer here.
Supernerds!
I was sitting in Starbucks this afternoon trying to enjoy a rather involved book on Aristotelian metaphysics, yet, to my consternation (and good humor), I was distracted by two men sitting across the store discussing some rather involved quantum physics (or something of that sort). I caught certain words and phrases such as "the properties of graviton paricles" "the fourth deminsion" and "the space-time continuum." Both of them fit the physical stereotype of the 'nerd' to a tee. One was rather lanky and the other had wild curly hair and Harry Potter glasses with lenses so big he could see into the future.
I confess I had a few chuckles at their expense, but only after realizing that I am a nerd as well. I may not have Harry Potter glasses or wear my pants up to my armpits, but I too engage in 'nerdom' and 'geekery' all too often on a variety of different subjects including philology, history, theology, liturics, computers, and the brewing of fine espresso.
After some meditation of this phenomenon of being a nerd, I have concluded that it is one of the main driving forces in a persons life. In essense, being a nerd is simply maintaining a 'passion' for a particular subject or occupation. One can be a sports nerd the same as a computer nerd. In essence they are the same though the nomenclature is different and the sociological actuality (pardon my words, I have been reading about Aristotle) may be different. The stereotypical 'computer nerd' may be invisioned as wearing glasses, being socially disfuntional, and having an awkward sense of fashion. A 'sports jock' on the hand may be invisioned as being rather muscular, dimwitted, and perhaps a slob. Yet, the same anthropological phenomenon creates both effects.
Having a 'passion' for a subject enables one simply to enjoy what one is doing and engage in it with a concerted effort. It enables even the most undisciplined and untrained person to engage in an activity and accomplish something. It gives a person a sense of purpose in life and an identity as a 'computer programmer' or 'football player.'
So, no matter how you look at it, we are all nerds to one degree or another. Some may be cynical and jaded, and some may be unable to find what exactly they are passionate about. But even those people are driven to find something to pour their passion into.
There are some important moral questions that extend from these observations:
I confess I had a few chuckles at their expense, but only after realizing that I am a nerd as well. I may not have Harry Potter glasses or wear my pants up to my armpits, but I too engage in 'nerdom' and 'geekery' all too often on a variety of different subjects including philology, history, theology, liturics, computers, and the brewing of fine espresso.
After some meditation of this phenomenon of being a nerd, I have concluded that it is one of the main driving forces in a persons life. In essense, being a nerd is simply maintaining a 'passion' for a particular subject or occupation. One can be a sports nerd the same as a computer nerd. In essence they are the same though the nomenclature is different and the sociological actuality (pardon my words, I have been reading about Aristotle) may be different. The stereotypical 'computer nerd' may be invisioned as wearing glasses, being socially disfuntional, and having an awkward sense of fashion. A 'sports jock' on the hand may be invisioned as being rather muscular, dimwitted, and perhaps a slob. Yet, the same anthropological phenomenon creates both effects.
Having a 'passion' for a subject enables one simply to enjoy what one is doing and engage in it with a concerted effort. It enables even the most undisciplined and untrained person to engage in an activity and accomplish something. It gives a person a sense of purpose in life and an identity as a 'computer programmer' or 'football player.'
So, no matter how you look at it, we are all nerds to one degree or another. Some may be cynical and jaded, and some may be unable to find what exactly they are passionate about. But even those people are driven to find something to pour their passion into.
There are some important moral questions that extend from these observations:
- How does this phenomenon relate to our relationship with God, or rather or love for God and desire for union with Him?
- How might our nerdiness actually enable us to maintain a certain intellectiual distance between us and the object of our nerdom? (This is especially relevant to us who engage in theological study and general Church geekery.)
- What kind of subjects or pursuits might be considered profitable to our souls and what might be dangerous to them?
- To what degree should we engage in pursuits that are not eternally significant or else significant to our livelyhood?
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Welcome Back!
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Vista on a Mac!
I am reposting this from my Xanga blog.
Windows Vista Pre RC1 is successfully installed on my Intel Mac (read "I infected my Mac with Vista). Vista on a Mac, who would a' thunk?
Actually, RC1 is a vast improvement over Beta 2....that and I am running it on a Core Duo with 2 Gigs of Ram. I am actually somewhat impressed with Vista. It is a major major improvement over XP...but just only catches up with Mac OSX Jaguire.
The thought of dual booting OSX Leopard and Vista on a MacPro makes me drool.
"I'm goin' fast Momma!" -Ricky Bobby
"Technically, we're not even allowed to go to the bathroom."
A powerful parody by the Rev. Lovejoy of the Simpsons (a show which I think every Christian should watch as a social commentary). With this quote, recalled to mind by the eloquant Mr. Thompson, captures a bit of the consternation that I and many other new converts to Orthodoxy feel as we begin to make inroads into practicing the Orthodox faith.
As a catechumen, I dealt with many feelings of inadequacy that were very discouraging. Watching small children receive the sacraments while I was made to wait an interminable amount of time until my own Chrismation was very troubling. I was often made to hear that I was "not yet Orthodox" even though I had been enrolled as a catecumen and, for all intents and purposes, identified myself fully with the Orthodox faith. While these feelings were no doubt from the Enemy, they were perhaps aggrevated by the attitude of the faithful towards those 'outside' of the faith as well as those who are 'newly illumined'.
Of course, for many, it would seem, 'newly illumined' really means 'not yet fully illumined' or 'not as illumuned as we are.' This phrase, or a reasonable facsimile thereof, is used to establish , in my opinion, an us/them mentality that is harmful to the unity of the parish community and the Church as whole.
As I posted several months ago, I feel that the Orthodox Church has not yet found a reasonable and agreeable position on how to deal with the number of converts who are entering the Church. We continue the tired old disitinction between 'convert' and 'cradle' (albeit a necessary distinction). We hear about 'convert baggage' and 'ueberfrommichkeit' among the zealous covnerts who are desparately trying to 'blend in' and not stick out as one of those pejoritavely-termed 'converts'.
Damned if you do and damned if you don't, the experience of a new convert becomes a desperate attempt to avoid the Scylla of too much zeal and the Charybdis loosing it all together.
Approaching Pascha, I thought that those feelings of inadequacy and isolation would go away once I was fully received into the Church through the sacrament of Chrismation. Unfortunately, they have not. If the catechumen/faithful distinction was no longer there, the newly-illumind/illumined-longer-than-you distinction remains. The us/them mentality remains.
To be sure, we are all at different levels of maturity in the faith. Some of us are 'newly illumined' and new to the ways of the faith, new to the 'phronema' or 'mind of the Church', while others are more advanced in the Way. Yet I do not believe that the relative progress of individuals in thier journey toward salvation should create an artificial and defacto hierarchy among the laity.
This mentality has been most recently expressed to me in a proposed moratorium, or more properlly, a gag order, on any convert not yet three years removed from their Baptism and Chrismation. Such an individual should be prevented from discussing matters of faith with newcomers, inquirers, and visitors in deference to the 'trained professionals' among the reverend clergy. Actively sharing one's faith on the 'highways and byways' ought to be forbidden. Proponents of this idea are concerned that the 'newly illumined' might corrupt the faith and teach error to the uninformed and do more damage than good.
As it strikes me, this sort of 'gag order' renders the Great Commission unapplicable to those who have not yet been Chrismated three years. And so I wonder, what is it about the Gospel that is too fragile to be handled by the 'newly illumined'? What is so precarious about the Orthodox faith that it would take one three years to be able to gain enough 'knowledge' to be a capable witness?
"Technically, we're not even allowed to_______."
Is the Gospel so fragile that only faithful of three-years stature are able to accurately articulate it? Is the Orthodox faith so complicated that it is unable to be articulated by the simple? I wonder, is such a Gospel good news at all? Is such a faith the Orthodox faith?
To be sure, the history of Christianity reveals a never-ending line of heretics who 'chose' their own articulation of the faith apart from the Apostolic Faith given to them. In this sense, there is danger of error, but not by the newly illumined only, but also of the mature believer, even bishops. Thus, in all cases, one is not left to share their faith or articulate it of their own devices, but within the boundaries of the Tradition which has been, or ought to have been handed down to us.
If there is a problem here, is it not in part because of a lack of proper and sufficient catechesis before and after one is received into the Church? If one wrongly articulates the faith, is it not possibly due to a failure to teach the Orthodox faith in the proper manner? My catechism consisted almost entirely of books written by this or that clergyman, this or that saint, and this or that perspective. Lossky, Schmemann, Ware, these were my catechizers. But Fr. Schmemann is controversial, and many do not like Bishop Ware. (This not a criticism of my priest. Fr. John is wise and able teacher, but so unfortunately short on time)
But this is neither here nor there when any distinction is made between, let us call them, the 'partially illumined' and the 'fully illumined'. And this distinction, in my opinion, is a crypto-Gnosticism. In such a system, there is another fulness to attain to before one is capable of fully functioning as a witnessing Christian, a fuller knowledge that must be obtained before one is to be allowed to share the pearl of great price with the world.
The Acts of the Apostles, in my opinion, offers a good illustration for our purposes. In the eighteenth chapter, a man named Apollos, "an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures" began to preach. It was then that Aquilla and Priscilla heard and took him aside and "expouunded unto him the way of God more perfectly." Afterwards, "he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ."
In this instance, one not yet illumed at all, knowing only the Baptism of John, was instructed in the proper teaching of Christ. After receiving this 'catechism', as it were, he continued to preach Jesus as the Christ.
I reference this, not as a 'proof text', but as an instance from which we might gain some perspective. What ought to be the requirements of Christian to properly be a witness of the Orthodox Faith? Here, correct and sufficient instruction, i.e. catechism, and grace, for "he believed through grace." As I have been taught the faith, Chrismation is precisely a commission to go out into the world and be 'Christ' to the world. We receive an anointing (Gr. 'Chrisma') of the Holy Spirit to accomplish the task of the Church in her mission to "preach the Gospel." We are endowed with the gift of the Holy Spirit to accomplish this work through the power of the same Spirit that rested upon Christ.
So what should one do? If an inquirer comes in to the assembly and afterwards asks a question about the faith (as happens very frequently at my parish), do I say, "I'm sorry, but I am not allowed to talk about the faith yet."? No! But we should all "be ready to give an account of the hope that is within us." If one is ignorant, bear witness of the faith to the best of one's ability with discression and refere what one cannot answer to those capable of doing so. If one is teaching error, let the parish priest deal with that person in private as Aquilla and Priscilla did with Apollos. Admonish, correct, instruct, but do not stifle the healthy zeal that may in fact be from the Holy Spirit.
Now, perhaps I am being 'crypto-Protestant' about such things. Perhaps one with more knowledge will correct me and show me the scripture, the canon, or the patristic text that supports the counter argument. But until then, I maintain that we should encourage one another in love to be witnesses according to the knowledge that we have received, and not to stifle another's zeal, and not to create artifical distinctions and requirements among those who have been made one in Christ and have partaken of the same Spirit in Chrismation and received the same Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist. If there is any crypto-Protestantism, perhaps it is in this attempt to further stratify what the Spirit has leveled, an attempt to subjectify what the Spirit has objectified in the sacraments of the Church.
But then again, I am only 'newly illumined.' What do I know?
As a catechumen, I dealt with many feelings of inadequacy that were very discouraging. Watching small children receive the sacraments while I was made to wait an interminable amount of time until my own Chrismation was very troubling. I was often made to hear that I was "not yet Orthodox" even though I had been enrolled as a catecumen and, for all intents and purposes, identified myself fully with the Orthodox faith. While these feelings were no doubt from the Enemy, they were perhaps aggrevated by the attitude of the faithful towards those 'outside' of the faith as well as those who are 'newly illumined'.
Of course, for many, it would seem, 'newly illumined' really means 'not yet fully illumined' or 'not as illumuned as we are.' This phrase, or a reasonable facsimile thereof, is used to establish , in my opinion, an us/them mentality that is harmful to the unity of the parish community and the Church as whole.
As I posted several months ago, I feel that the Orthodox Church has not yet found a reasonable and agreeable position on how to deal with the number of converts who are entering the Church. We continue the tired old disitinction between 'convert' and 'cradle' (albeit a necessary distinction). We hear about 'convert baggage' and 'ueberfrommichkeit' among the zealous covnerts who are desparately trying to 'blend in' and not stick out as one of those pejoritavely-termed 'converts'.
Damned if you do and damned if you don't, the experience of a new convert becomes a desperate attempt to avoid the Scylla of too much zeal and the Charybdis loosing it all together.
Approaching Pascha, I thought that those feelings of inadequacy and isolation would go away once I was fully received into the Church through the sacrament of Chrismation. Unfortunately, they have not. If the catechumen/faithful distinction was no longer there, the newly-illumind/illumined-longer-than-you distinction remains. The us/them mentality remains.
To be sure, we are all at different levels of maturity in the faith. Some of us are 'newly illumined' and new to the ways of the faith, new to the 'phronema' or 'mind of the Church', while others are more advanced in the Way. Yet I do not believe that the relative progress of individuals in thier journey toward salvation should create an artificial and defacto hierarchy among the laity.
This mentality has been most recently expressed to me in a proposed moratorium, or more properlly, a gag order, on any convert not yet three years removed from their Baptism and Chrismation. Such an individual should be prevented from discussing matters of faith with newcomers, inquirers, and visitors in deference to the 'trained professionals' among the reverend clergy. Actively sharing one's faith on the 'highways and byways' ought to be forbidden. Proponents of this idea are concerned that the 'newly illumined' might corrupt the faith and teach error to the uninformed and do more damage than good.
As it strikes me, this sort of 'gag order' renders the Great Commission unapplicable to those who have not yet been Chrismated three years. And so I wonder, what is it about the Gospel that is too fragile to be handled by the 'newly illumined'? What is so precarious about the Orthodox faith that it would take one three years to be able to gain enough 'knowledge' to be a capable witness?
"Technically, we're not even allowed to_______."
Is the Gospel so fragile that only faithful of three-years stature are able to accurately articulate it? Is the Orthodox faith so complicated that it is unable to be articulated by the simple? I wonder, is such a Gospel good news at all? Is such a faith the Orthodox faith?
To be sure, the history of Christianity reveals a never-ending line of heretics who 'chose' their own articulation of the faith apart from the Apostolic Faith given to them. In this sense, there is danger of error, but not by the newly illumined only, but also of the mature believer, even bishops. Thus, in all cases, one is not left to share their faith or articulate it of their own devices, but within the boundaries of the Tradition which has been, or ought to have been handed down to us.
If there is a problem here, is it not in part because of a lack of proper and sufficient catechesis before and after one is received into the Church? If one wrongly articulates the faith, is it not possibly due to a failure to teach the Orthodox faith in the proper manner? My catechism consisted almost entirely of books written by this or that clergyman, this or that saint, and this or that perspective. Lossky, Schmemann, Ware, these were my catechizers. But Fr. Schmemann is controversial, and many do not like Bishop Ware. (This not a criticism of my priest. Fr. John is wise and able teacher, but so unfortunately short on time)
But this is neither here nor there when any distinction is made between, let us call them, the 'partially illumined' and the 'fully illumined'. And this distinction, in my opinion, is a crypto-Gnosticism. In such a system, there is another fulness to attain to before one is capable of fully functioning as a witnessing Christian, a fuller knowledge that must be obtained before one is to be allowed to share the pearl of great price with the world.
The Acts of the Apostles, in my opinion, offers a good illustration for our purposes. In the eighteenth chapter, a man named Apollos, "an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures" began to preach. It was then that Aquilla and Priscilla heard and took him aside and "expouunded unto him the way of God more perfectly." Afterwards, "he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ."
In this instance, one not yet illumed at all, knowing only the Baptism of John, was instructed in the proper teaching of Christ. After receiving this 'catechism', as it were, he continued to preach Jesus as the Christ.
I reference this, not as a 'proof text', but as an instance from which we might gain some perspective. What ought to be the requirements of Christian to properly be a witness of the Orthodox Faith? Here, correct and sufficient instruction, i.e. catechism, and grace, for "he believed through grace." As I have been taught the faith, Chrismation is precisely a commission to go out into the world and be 'Christ' to the world. We receive an anointing (Gr. 'Chrisma') of the Holy Spirit to accomplish the task of the Church in her mission to "preach the Gospel." We are endowed with the gift of the Holy Spirit to accomplish this work through the power of the same Spirit that rested upon Christ.
So what should one do? If an inquirer comes in to the assembly and afterwards asks a question about the faith (as happens very frequently at my parish), do I say, "I'm sorry, but I am not allowed to talk about the faith yet."? No! But we should all "be ready to give an account of the hope that is within us." If one is ignorant, bear witness of the faith to the best of one's ability with discression and refere what one cannot answer to those capable of doing so. If one is teaching error, let the parish priest deal with that person in private as Aquilla and Priscilla did with Apollos. Admonish, correct, instruct, but do not stifle the healthy zeal that may in fact be from the Holy Spirit.
Now, perhaps I am being 'crypto-Protestant' about such things. Perhaps one with more knowledge will correct me and show me the scripture, the canon, or the patristic text that supports the counter argument. But until then, I maintain that we should encourage one another in love to be witnesses according to the knowledge that we have received, and not to stifle another's zeal, and not to create artifical distinctions and requirements among those who have been made one in Christ and have partaken of the same Spirit in Chrismation and received the same Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist. If there is any crypto-Protestantism, perhaps it is in this attempt to further stratify what the Spirit has leveled, an attempt to subjectify what the Spirit has objectified in the sacraments of the Church.
But then again, I am only 'newly illumined.' What do I know?
Summer Update
As the summer is drawing to a close and fall quickly draweth nigh, I will provide an update.
My major accomplishment this summer has been in the area of web programming, which I have taught myself almost from scratch. Using XHTML and CSS, I have almost completed the initial rollout of the website for St. Paul Antiochian Church (Western Rite). I am also working on my own professional website and a possible site redesign of my home parish, Christ the Savior OCA. It has been great fun to re-engage the computer geek inside of me that has been largely neglected since high school. Also, my artistic side has received some attention with some creative work done in Photoshop and Fireworks.
I have spent a total of about five weeks in Houston visiting friends and family. My times at home grow sweeter and sweeter each time I visit. My parents and I now enjoy a unity of faith in Orthodoxy such that we have never enjoyed before. They are growing in the Orthodox faith quickly, for they were already very pious and mature Christians to begin with. The heritage they gave me, even as Protestants, is a major component of what enabled me to find my way home to Orthodoxy. Similarly, I have such a wonderful time with three friends who are more to me like older siblings than friends. If I could, I would live in Houston for the rest of my life, just to continue to spend time with them.
I have had a chance to observe St. Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church grow and develop in the past few months in a very exciting way. This new community of Orthodox catechumens are progressing well in their preparations for Chrismation in November. They are learning step-by-step the operation of the Western Rite and making improvements each week. My father has taken on the chanting of the Psalter during matins, which is no small matter. My father has had to get used to a new musical notation as well as the particular aesthetic of Gregorian chant. After participating in several services at St. Mark's, Denver, we all learned a great deal about chanting.
We spent a week in Estes Park, CO for some much needed R&R. It was beautiful beyond words. I had so much fun driving up Trail Ridge Road at 12,000 feet MSL to the Alpine Visitors Center in the Rocky Mountain National Park. Although I was sucking wind up at that altitude, I enjoyed every minute of it.
But, now as the summer draws to a close, I am looking forward to starting classes. My classes include Ugaritic, Biblical Aramaic, 2nd yr. Syriac, and Post-Biblical Hebrew, as well as my thesis project. I anticipate that it will be a blast.
I hope to post soon a few thoughts about Orthodoxy, mostly of my experiences thus far as an Orthodox Christian, the Western Rite, the virtues and beauty of the Latin language, various aspects of computer geekery (Vista on a Mac!), and, of course, all things potable.
My major accomplishment this summer has been in the area of web programming, which I have taught myself almost from scratch. Using XHTML and CSS, I have almost completed the initial rollout of the website for St. Paul Antiochian Church (Western Rite). I am also working on my own professional website and a possible site redesign of my home parish, Christ the Savior OCA. It has been great fun to re-engage the computer geek inside of me that has been largely neglected since high school. Also, my artistic side has received some attention with some creative work done in Photoshop and Fireworks.
I have spent a total of about five weeks in Houston visiting friends and family. My times at home grow sweeter and sweeter each time I visit. My parents and I now enjoy a unity of faith in Orthodoxy such that we have never enjoyed before. They are growing in the Orthodox faith quickly, for they were already very pious and mature Christians to begin with. The heritage they gave me, even as Protestants, is a major component of what enabled me to find my way home to Orthodoxy. Similarly, I have such a wonderful time with three friends who are more to me like older siblings than friends. If I could, I would live in Houston for the rest of my life, just to continue to spend time with them.
I have had a chance to observe St. Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church grow and develop in the past few months in a very exciting way. This new community of Orthodox catechumens are progressing well in their preparations for Chrismation in November. They are learning step-by-step the operation of the Western Rite and making improvements each week. My father has taken on the chanting of the Psalter during matins, which is no small matter. My father has had to get used to a new musical notation as well as the particular aesthetic of Gregorian chant. After participating in several services at St. Mark's, Denver, we all learned a great deal about chanting.
We spent a week in Estes Park, CO for some much needed R&R. It was beautiful beyond words. I had so much fun driving up Trail Ridge Road at 12,000 feet MSL to the Alpine Visitors Center in the Rocky Mountain National Park. Although I was sucking wind up at that altitude, I enjoyed every minute of it.
But, now as the summer draws to a close, I am looking forward to starting classes. My classes include Ugaritic, Biblical Aramaic, 2nd yr. Syriac, and Post-Biblical Hebrew, as well as my thesis project. I anticipate that it will be a blast.
I hope to post soon a few thoughts about Orthodoxy, mostly of my experiences thus far as an Orthodox Christian, the Western Rite, the virtues and beauty of the Latin language, various aspects of computer geekery (Vista on a Mac!), and, of course, all things potable.
Reboot!
After my blog was hacked, I was forced to delete this blog and start over in order to keep the same address. For those of you who link to the RSS feed at qatlqitlqutl.blogspot.com will not have to change any blookmarks. However, I would appreciate it if you would leave a comment here if you are receiving this message via RSS (or firefox live bookmark). Since I have 'rebooted' my blog, I hope to continue actively posting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)